A Zombie Movie... With A Brain!

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2003)

There was so much hype about how scary this film was that I had reservations about seeing it, being the fraidy cat that I am. However, my much younger sister begged me to take her, and I ended up thanking her for it afterward.
I should have known that I would like 28 Days Later from the start. It was directed by Danny Boyle, who has provided us with the great Trainspotting and Shallow Grave among other films. All of his films have a great frenetic style to them, and 28 Days follows in that tradition. Shot with digital film, this medium provided a grittiness and realism that could have been too slick if it had been filmed on traditional celluloid. This is pure speculation, but regardless, the digital format added an almost documentarian feel to the film.
In addition to the fact that the main character, Jim has been hospitalized for a month after an accident and wakes up to find London virtually deserted, he has some zombies that have been infected with a virus called RAGE to contend with. These are not your late sixties Romero zombies that walked around slowly and moaned for brains - these are new and improved zombies who move at mind numbing speed, vomit blood constantly, and aren't necessarily concerned with turning you into one of them - they don't mind killing you, quickly and painfully.
But don't go into this movie expecting a simple slasher/horror flick. Unlike many horror films of the last forty years, 28 Days doesn't rely on a thin (if at all existent) storyline, teen hotties, and corny humor to supplement its non-action oriented sequences. This is a film that explores family, utopia and most notably, survival among other themes. Having said that, it is not the least bit preachy or pretentious, and certainly does not take itself too seriously. What 28 Days does provide is two hours of disturbing yet compelling imagery, an intelligent voice that will have you deconstructing the plot for hours, even days after you see it, and of course, fantastic zombies.
If you don't want to see a horror/suspense film that transcends the plot devices of Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street films, don't bother with this one. But if you are looking for something with a little more mettle, definitely check this one out - even my sister, a die hard slasher flick fan loved it.
--Shelly